Bending-machine.



No. 818,702. PATENTED APR. 24, 1906. P. H. MURPHY.

BENDING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 26, 1905.

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PATENTED APR. 24, 1906.

P. H. MURPHY.

BBNDING MACHINE.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 24, 1906.

Application filed June 25, 1905. Serial N0. 266,945-

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, PETER H. MURPHY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bending-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to sheet-metal bending-machines, and has for its principal objects to produce a machine which will clamp and firmly hold the sheet being operated on, to produce a rebent flange perpendicular to the plane of a sheet at a single operation, to bend rebent flanges upon a plurality of edges of a sheet, a solid corner being made at the meeting corner of the flanges, to simplify the construction, to reduce the cost, and to increase the durability of bending-machines.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur, Figure 1 is an end View of the machine, the parts being in the position assumed when the operation of bending a flange has just been completed. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view through the machine. Fig. 3 is a rear View of one end of the machine, the legs being broken away. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the machine, the bending member being broken away, the clampingbar being shown in its rearmost position. Fig. 5 is a front View of the machine, the bending member being raised and the weight carrying frame being broken away.

WVhile the use of the present machine is not limited to their manufacture, it is especially adapted for the manufacture of sheets for carroofs, such as are shown and claimedin my application for patent filed May 17, 1905, Serial No. 260,756. These sheets have upon three edges rebent flanges perpendicular to the plane of the sheets. The said sheets are bent from blanks having substantially L- shaped notches cut at their corners, and consequently the rebends of the flanges do not extend entirely to the corners of the sheet. The flanges form solid or unperforated corners, the surplus metal being turned around the corners and hammered down flat against one of the meeting flanges.

The machine comprises a bed or table 1, supported on legs 2. At its rear side a former is arranged. Said former comprises a flat bar 3, which is sunk in the table, so that its upper surface is flush with the top of the table, and a plate 4 firmly secured to said bar and extending both above and below it. Thus the former is substantially T-shaped, and it maybe made integral, if desired. In the upper surface of the bar 3 of the former are a number of small cavities 5, and the plate 4 is provided with holes alining with said cavities.

A clamping-bar 6 is slidably mounted on the rear of said table, a wear-plate 7 being arranged below it. At its front edge said clamping-bar 6 has a plurality of rigidlymounted guide-pins S, which extend through the holes in the plate 4 and into the cavities 5 in the bar 3 of the former, the pins being mounted so low that they do not project above the upper surface of the bar 3 and the table 1.

Mechanism is provided to laterally reciprocate this clamping-bar 6 and cause it to clamp the edge of a sheet against the rear side of the plate 4 of the former. Brackets 9, having, an arm 10, extending beneath the table 1, and separated ears 11 are mounted at the rear of the machine near the ends thereof. The separated ears 11 have alined holes or bearings through which shafts 12 extend. At its upper end each shaft is provided with a rigidly-mounted arm 13, carrying a pin 14. Said pins 14 project into slots 15, formed by substantially U-shaped bars 16, secured upon the rear side of the clamp ing-bar 6. These slots are long enough to permit a considerable longitudinal movement of said pins between their ends, but are but slightly wider than the diameter of the pins. At their lower ends said shafts 12 are provided with arms 17, which extend in the same direction as the arms 13. The arms 17 are connected by a rigid link 18, which is pivotally connected to each. The length of said link is such that the arms of the two shafts 12 are always held parallel. A guideplate 19 is rigidly mounted at one end on the lower side of the table, and at its other end it rests upon the flange formed around the lower end of the adjacent vertical shaft 12 by the arm 17, secured thereto. An actuating-lever 20 is pivoted upon the lower side of the table, near the front thereof, extends over and rests upon the guide-plate 19, extends upwardly and rearwardly, and terminates in a substantially horizontal handle 21,

which is located at a height convenient for manipulation by a man standing. Two links 22 23 connect said lever with the arm 17 of the adjacent vertical shaft 12, said links being pivoted on the pivot for said arm and the link 18. Then the handle 21 is pulled toward the end of the table nearest which it is mounted, the shafts 12 are caused to turn and the clamping-bar 6 is moved forwardly into its clamping position. When the handle 21 is moved in the opposite direction, the clamping-bar 6 is moved rearwardly.

The table is provided with side plates 24, which extend above the surface thereof. At their rear ends these side plates are provided with tubular bearings 25. The front lower sections of said bearings are broken away, as shown in Fig. 5, for a purpose hereinafter appearing. The journals of the bending member 26 are journaled in said bearings 25. The bending member is a massive member which is substantially L-shaped in cross-section and is provided near its ends with journals 27, which enter the bearings 25. The bending member is substantially the same length as the former, with which it cooperates. At the center of the bending member a handle 28 is mounted. Near its ends the ends of a curved bar 29 are secured, said bar curving forwardly and lying in a plane inclined to the plane of the table. A massive cylindrical poise 30 is mounted on the fore most portion of said curved bar 29. A bar 31 connects said handle 28 and said poise, so that said bending member, handle 28, bar 31, poise 30, and curved bar 29 form a rigid frame. The poise 30 is thus mounted so as to exert a very considerable leverage with respect to the axis of rotation of the bending member and the point of application of the latter to the sheet being bent.

The lower side of the bending member is provided with a plurality of grooves 32. These grooves are placed at distances from the end of the bending member which are, respectively, substantially equal to the several widths of sheets which the machine is intended to make.

At the ends the table is provided with channels 33, the bottoms of which are below the surface of the table. The former, clamping-bar, and bending member all terminate flush with the inner sides of said channels.

The-operation of the machine is as follows: To permit the insertion of a sheet to be bent, the bending member is turned up by pulling the handle 28 rearwardly and downwardly. The clamping-bar is moved rearwardly by operating the handle 21. The edge of the sheet to be bent is then inserted between the clamping-b ar and the former until said edge rests upon the guide-pins 6 throughout its length. The clamping member isthen moved forwardly by operating the handle 21 and the edge of the sheet is tightly clamped against the former. The bending member is then turned down, it being permitted to go downforcibly under the action of its own weight and that of the poise 30. The sheet will be thrown down upon the table and it will be turned over the former. The position of the parts at this time is indicated in Fig. 2, a sheet 34 being shown in place. Then the bending member is turned up, the clamping member is moved rearwardly, and the sheet is raised from the table and former. Assume that this rebent flange has been bent up on the right edge of the sheet. The top can now be inserted between the clamping-b ar and the former in the manner described above if the sheet is so placed that its flange will be held beyond the right end of the former. This flange is likely to be so deep that when position the flange will strike the tubular bearing for the journals of the bending member. For this reason the lower front portions are broken away, as described above. The top is clamped and bent in the same manner as the side. In forming the flange on the top of the sheet the surplus metal at the corner will be caused to project from the corner. The free space between the former and the side frames of the table permits this without distortion, and thus the surplus metal is left in suitable condition to be hammered fiat against the face of one of the flanges. The flange upon the third side or left side of the sheet is formed in the same manner as that upon the top.

It sometimes happens that the flange at the top of the sheet is found to be defective after the side flanges have been formed and it is desired to straighten it out and rebend it. For this purpose the grooves 32 are provided in the face of the bearing member. The defective flange being somewhat straightened by hand, the top of the sheet is placed against, but not over, the former and is so located that the flange at one side shall lie beyond the end of the bending member and the flange at the opposite side will enter one of the grooves 32. Then the bending member is operated and the sheet is hammered between the fiat face of the bending member and the bar 3 of the former. Being straightened, the edge is then inserted between the clamping member and the former, being again so located that the flange at one side shall lie beyond the end of the bending member and the flange at the opposite side will enter one of the grooves 32. Thus the operation can be performed without injuring either of the side flanges.

That I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A bending-machine comprising a table, a former fixed on said table, means to clamp the edge of a sheet against said former, and a pivoted bending member arranged to bend said sheet over said former, said former terthe sheet is in this minating short of one side of the table, whereby the edge of the sheet may project beyond the end of said former.

2. A bending-machine comprising a table, a former fixed on said table, means to clamp the edge of a sheet against said former, and a pivoted bending member arranged to bend said sheet over said former, said former and the face of said bending member engaging the sheet terminating short of one side of said table, whereby the edge of a sheet having a flange on one edge may be bent.

3. A bending-machine comprising a table, a former fixed on said table, a clamping mem ber provided with a plurality of guide-pins extending into the space between said former and said clamping member, means to move said clamping member toward and away from said former, and a pivotally-mounted bending member arranged to cooperate with said former.

-f. A bending-machine comprising a table, a former fixed in said table, a clamping member movably mounted on said table and provided with slots, shafts rotatably mounted upon said table and having rigidly-mounted arms provided with pins entering said slots and rigidly-mounted arms connected to I l l r l l l l l i gether by a link, and a pivotally-mounted lever operatively connected to said shafts to rotate the same simultaneously 5. A bending-machine comprising a table, a former fixed on said table, means to clamp the edge of a sheet against said former, and a pivoted bending member arranged to bend said sheet over said former and having a transverse groove in the face engaging said sheet, said former and said face of said bending member terminating short of one side of said table.

6. A bending-machine comprising a table having grooves at the opposite sides of the upper surface thereof, a former fixed on said table and terminating at the walls of said grooves, and a pivoted bending member arranged to bend a sheet over said former, whereby the edge of a sheet having a rebent flange on one edge can be bent.

In witness whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 10th day of June,

1905, at St. Louis, Missouri.

PETER H. MURPHY. \Vitnesses J. B. MEeowx, FRED F. REIsxER. 

